Double Wood
by harasnicole
Summary: They meet in a bowling alley, thanks to Edward's best friend meddling. Not quite love at first sight, but it feels pretty damned close to it. Fluff. Slash. All-Human.
1. Chapter 1

**New story. I'm starting over in regards to writing. Scrapped previous ones altogether, and it took me awhile to figure out which subject to tackle first. Then, while reading a story that's going to be ending with a baby or two, I got inspired to write one where babies aren't wanted, and there's no change of heart. So. Here we are.**

**Before we get started, just know this: Edward is a bisexual man, which is why there's no pairing labeled. I made it like that because I don't know who I want his "other half" to be just yet. So, it's open-ended. If that's not your thing, heed this as your warning.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the... plot, I guess. There isn't really one, just something silly, but Stephenie Meyer owns the character(s). I just enjoy playing with them.**

* * *

**01.**

_Fucking kids._

If I didn't enjoy riding the bus so much, I'd finally bite the bullet and go after my driver's license. As it is, with how many idiots there are out on the roads at all hours of the day, driving actually terrifies me to the point where I wouldn't even be surprised if I were to have a full-on panic attack just getting into the driver's seat of a car that will never be mine.

But man, earning that license doesn't seem so scary when there are kids acting up because Mommy won't stop playing on her goddamned phone.

I don't hate kids. Really, I don't. I have a nine-year-old niece that I love to bits, but that's only because she's been well-raised by two parents who don't want her to be a brat, which I can respect. Especially now. But I don't want my own, because I know in my heart that I don't have one ounce of patience for fatherhood, and I'd never want to put a child through that, so. No kids for me.

Kudos to those who do, though, and to those who seem to thrive on it.

Kids just aren't for me, and I've yet to meet anyone who feels the same way. It's probably why I haven't been in a relatively serious relationship since high school, and that's fine. Until I do, I'll just continue to spoil my niece with things her parents won't, and then give her back at the end of the day, thankful that she's not mine.

Tearing myself away from my thoughts, I look out from the corner of my eye to see what's going on and one of the little shits seems to have balloon in his hand that must have been in his backpack. On the inside, I imagine my eyes widening in horror, because balloons on a bus at the hands of what appears to be a four-year-old boy can only mean one thing: trouble. On the outside, though, my expression is almost entirely stoic, unless someone's looking closely, and then that person will see the clench in my jaw and hands, and the slight squint of my eyes. There is a frustration building up inside of me, ready to burst, and if that kid does what I suspect he's about to do, I'll have to get off this bus before I do or say something that I may not regret until much, _much_ later.

I watch him from my peripheral. Those little lungs trying their damnedest to blow as much air into the balloon as possible, and when he can't anymore, he stops… and then grabs either side of the bottom of the balloon and pulls, making a high-pitched squeaking noise. Pulling the rubber apart, and then closing it; over and over, this kid does it, and the frustration is getting bigger, quickly hurling me into my boiling point, and it's not until the fucking balloon pops that I pull the stop-cord so hard, I'm surprised it didn't break.

It's a stop early, but if I want to keep my sanity and not blow up at this kid or his inattentive mother, it'd be best for everybody if I get off now, before I make the brat piss his pants in fear.

_Fucking kids._

* * *

**Short first chapter. The following won't be any longer, really, as I can't manage to write long chapters. I'll try updating not every day, but I'm thinking every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. **

**Until Monday... see you soon.**


	2. Chapter 2

**To reiterate: I don't know who I'm pairing Edward up with. This is why I made him bisexual. He could end up with a woman, or he could end up with a man. This is just me, flying by the seat of my pants (that's how that saying goes, right?).**

* * *

**02.**

* * *

My keys have just barely touched the counter in the kitchen before my cell starts ringing. Checking the caller id, I smile.

"What do you want?" I greet with.

A laugh, and then, "I can't just call my brother and see how he's doing?"

I roll my eyes. "Not when you just saw me three hours ago, numb nuts."

"Ouch. And I love you, too, Edward." But he's laughing, so it's all good. This is just one of the ways we show our brotherly love for one another.

"Out with it, Em. What do you want?"

"Well…" he draws out the word, trying to build up suspense. Not working, but I don't say anything. I'm curious to hear how he's going to butter me up this time. "There's a nine-year-old here who _really _misses her uncle and wants to spend time with him. Maybe even overnight?"

I laugh now. "Are you asking me, or telling me?" I don't care either way. I'm always up for spending time with Bree. Emmett knows this.

"I am outside of your building…"

"Seriously? You wait not even two seconds before I walk in to, what, ambush me by phone?"

Again, I don't really care. My brother's always doing something like this, as if he thinks that I'll ever say no to playing babysitter.

As my niece would say, _As if_.

She seems to be on a _Clueless _kick, or something. Either that, or that phrase has just been slowly making its way back into everyday speech. At least it's not that _Frozen _crap.

"You know what? Never mind. Send her up. She can help me devise a plan for revenge."

I hang up before he can protest.

* * *

"All right, Bree, what do you want to do first?"

I watch as she plops herself down on the futon that's still a couch until she's ready to go to sleep, and she taps her chin all dramatically like this is a huge decision to be made. If I know her like I think I do, she'll just settle on whatever movie she's been obsessing over this week, anyway.

But she takes after her mother, so everything is dramatic.

"How about…" My niece thinks she's clever, drawing out the suspense. I usually let her, but I think I'll tease her a little first.

"Make it quick before I don't let you watch television at all."

That earns me a glare of her pretty blue eyes.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Want to bet?"

If she squints any more, she may as well just be asleep.

To play with her more, I turn my back on her and start making my way to my DVD collection. She hates the Star Wars movies ever since her father made her watch them with him some six months ago. Just as my hand reaches out to grab the first DVD, I hear a high-pitched shriek and then there's a weight on my back and tiny arms wrapping around my neck, and movies are forgotten and it's an all out tickle war now.

Listening to this girl laugh and giggle… I can see why people want to be parents. But then I try to picture myself as one, and I just… nope. There's a difference between being someone's uncle and being someone's parent. Not everyone is cut out to be a parent, but I guess if one can be born to be an uncle, then that would be me.

* * *

**See y'all on Wednesday.  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**03.**

Monday morning rolls around bright and early, and I wake up just a couple minutes before the alarm is set to go off. I don't have to be at the bowling alley for another couple of hours, so I use this time to just lie in bed and… relax.

I ended up having Bree until midday yesterday, Sunday, and we watched a lot of movies half of the time, and then I took her down to the park for an hour or two to get some fresh air (her mother would kill me if I didn't), took her out for ice cream, went to see a movie in a theater, and then came back to my apartment and vegged out on the couch and played video games. Not all of this was in one day, but spread out over the weekend.

My eyes are starting to slide shut again, so before I can fall back asleep, I toss the covers away from me and swing my legs over, planting my feet firmly on the carpet and sit up. After I hit the bathroom, I start the coffee and head back to the bedroom to ready myself for work.

It's such a beautiful day outside already, for Washington. You can tell summer is almost here.

* * *

The bowling alley is already open when I walk up, which means that Mike is already here. I thought he had today off, but maybe he's having more marital troubles with his wife. Mike's a cool guy for being in his mid-40s, but that wife of his… man. I try not to get myself involved in anybody's business, but he often seeks me out to be his sounding board when he needs to vent because he knows I'm a better listener than any of our other co-workers.

"Hey, Mike," I greet when I walk up to the front desk and then behind. He looks pretty tired, like he hasn't gotten much sleep lately. "You okay?"

He looks up at me, confusion in his gaze for a second before he shakes his head as if to wake up and recognizes me.

"Oh, hey, Edward. M'fine, m'fine. Just tired." He waves a dismissive hand.

I leave him to it, and place my things below the counter. "Busy this morning?" I ask instead.

"Nope, but I need to run to the bathroom real quick, be right back."

I shrug and pull over one of two stools to sit down, then pull out my textbook and get to reading the current chapter.

* * *

A shadow falls over my textbook some minutes later as a customer walks up. I finish the sentence I'm reading quickly before I shut my book and drop it down onto my backpack.

When I look up, warm, blue eyes meet my green, and automatically my mouth has started turning up at the corners, liking what I'm seeing.

I sit a little straighter on the stool, before saying fuck it, and just stand all together.

"Hey. How can I help you?"

* * *

**See you Friday.  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**If you'll take a look at the pairing, you'll notice I just made Edward gay. Apologies if that's not your "cup of tea" and decide to stop reading. Totally understandable.**

**P.S. It's not Mike.**

* * *

**04.**

I watch him walk away and appreciate the view. If I didn't have work to do, I would move this stool to the side closest to his lane and just… stare. But that would come off as a bit creepy, and nobody wants that.

Sitting back on the stool, I grab my textbook again and begin where I left off. It's not too much longer when I hear the doors slide open and smell her perfume. I really wish she wouldn't shower in that shit. Smelling good or not, a little goes a long way.

"Hey, Bella," I call out before she makes it all the way to the counter. She doesn't bowl, has no interest in it, really. She just likes to come in when I'm working and bug me - her words. She likes to people-watch, too, and judge everyone on their bowling skills, or lack thereof. Bella thinks she's a comedian, but she's also a good friend. Still, bowling is my forte, and no matter how many games she's come to when we were in high school, she still knows jack shit.

"Hey, Edward," she calls back, her voice sounding muddled and distracted. I look up to see her head practically inside her hobo bag, and this is why she's always tripping ass over feet. Bella can't go two seconds without digging inside that bag and I would ask what she's looking for, but part of me is scared. It could be anything. She has basically everything but the kitchen sink, though you can probably fit that in there, too. If she doesn't look up within the next ten seconds, she's about to get an unwelcome greeting from the pillar in the middle of the floor.

I shake my head, sighing, then go back to my book as I warn, "Pillar."

She just grazes it as she darts to her left, squeaking out a, "Thanks!" but keeping her head still in her bag. What the hell is she looking for?

"Dude. Watch where you're going. What are you looking for, anyway?" There's a part of me imagining Bella pulling out a dead body of all things.

I think I need to cut back on the horror movies…

"Dude. My fucking ChapStick is at the bottom, I just know it. I really don't want to have to dump everything out to find it, only to put everything else back in."

And, yet, she'll do that, anyway. It's what she always does, whether we're out in public, or in my apartment. Saying she doesn't want to dump everything out is her foreshadowing.

I watch as she makes it to one of the tables closest to my side of the counter, where she does exactly what she said she didn't want to do. Chuckling under my breath, I peek over to the blonde on lane nine just in time to watch him step onto the boards and get himself set up. The fact that he takes his time getting into his stance leads me to believe that he's done this before, because it looks almost professional.

When he takes his steps and releases what appears to be his own ball - how I missed his bowling bag is beyond me - I watch all of that power from his double-handed swing push the ball down the lane so fast, it'd make anyone's head spin. It hits the pocket perfectly, and the pins explode around each other in a strike.

He's definitely done this before.

Maybe I can challenge him to a game one day. If I ever see him again, in any case.

I turn back around quickly just as he lifts his head to look in my direction, and I catch Bella standing by the table, her things no longer littering the table, with a mischievous grin on her lips.

_Shit._

She's in matchmaking mode. She's not exactly the best wingman - or wingwoman, if you prefer.

"Bella. Don't. Please." I'm practically begging. I don't want her to screw this up for me. "Let me do this on my own, _please_." I implore.

She walks up to the counter and tugs on my shirt just enough to get me to lean just a little so she can plant a kiss on my cheek. When she lets go and leans back, she looks over my shoulder, smiles smugly, and then pats my cheek opposite of the one she kissed and goes back to grab her bag.

As she leaves, she calls back to me, "The rest is up to you."

When I check back over my shoulder, my eyes widen. He's headed this way.

_Double shit._

* * *

**I like having the weekends off. Gives me time to write ahead, try to flesh out more of the story. Maybe even come up with a better summary, because that's not what this story is technically about anymore, lol.**

**See you all on Monday. :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**05.**

There's not a lot to keep me busy behind this counter, so by the time he walks up in front of me, I'm a nervous wreck.

After taking a deep breath in and letting it out slowly, I stand up straight and act like the model employee that I have been before he came waltzing in. "Can I help you with something?" I ask, my tone as professional-sounding as I can make it.

Instead of speaking, he just stands there, watching me. I can feel his eyes not-so-subtly look me up and down, and because I'm uncertain what it is he plans on saying, I start shifting my weight from one foot to the other and scratch an invisible itch on the back of my neck. It's been awhile since I've found anyone attractive… well, it's been awhile since I've paid attention to more than just work and school, to be honest, but still. He unnerves me, and until he says whatever he says, I'm beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable.

As if he can sense this, he replies, "Yeah. You have plans tonight?"

I'm so stunned that I don't know what to even say at first. Did he just…?

"Um, no?" I am so confused, it's not even funny. This guy seems to get a kick out of it, though, if the slight twitching of his lips is any indication.

"Are you asking me, or telling me?"

As I'm laughing, I say, "Telling." Then, for whatever reason, I divulge this little tidbit of information: "You make me nervous."

I don't know why it came out, but it did, and it seems to have taken him by surprise. Like he finds it difficult to believe that he can make anybody nervous.

He reaches his hand out to me over the counter, and I'd hazard a guess that we're about to make the introductions now, so I grasp his hand somewhat firmly, and right away I'm already lost to the feeling of how warm his hand is.

"Name's Jasper. And you are…?"

"Edward. And no, I definitely don't have any plans tonight."

We smile at each other, and then he tells me, "Well, now you do. I'm taking you out."


	6. Chapter 6

**06.**

We exchange numbers and then after throwing a wink my way, he heads off back to his lane to finish his games. Some more customers walk in, and that's my cue to get back to work.

By the time Jasper packs up his ball and shoes, we've already sent numerous texts back and forth in between lulls at the front desk. We basically took care of all the first date getting-to-know-you questions, so I found out that he's originally from Spokane Valley in eastern Washington, and that he moved to Lakewood for school, and his apartment happens to be just across the street from campus. He's studying to be a hairstylist and I teased him about being a cliche, in which case he sent me a playful glare from his lane, and then a text telling me that I'd be paying for that later.

All joking aside, though, I envy him for knowing what he wants to do with his life, while I feel… I don't know, stuck. I mean, yeah, I'm taking classes online, but I can't decide on a major. For awhile I thought I'd do something with medicine, since that seems to be the field that everyone else in my family has chosen, and it seemed like a valid option, but then I realized quickly that it's not for me because it almost feels like _too much _school, even if the programs I was looking at took only about a year or two to complete.

Anyway, I also found out that he's an only child, and then I told him that I often jokingly thought about how that felt like, because of how obnoxious my brother can be when he really puts his mind to it. Then I admitted that I'd only end up missing the big oaf because I wouldn't have my niece to spoil with all the things her parents would rather I didn't. Jasper told me that being an only child isn't as lonely as some people make it out to be, and that he generally likes being by himself. He's learned to appreciate the quiet much like I have ever since I moved out of my parents' house and into my apartment.

I'm back on the stool reading the textbook I brought with me to kill time when a shadow falls over the page and I'm already smiling by the time I look up at his face. I dog-ear the page to mark my place before closing it and put the book aside before giving him my undivided attention.

"Hey," I greet. "Heading out now?"

"Yep," he nods. Taps a rhythm on the counter top. "So, I'll pick you up at seven?"

"On the dot. You're really not going to clue me in on where you're taking me?" I try to plead.

He laughs. "Nope. Just dress… I don't know. Nice? But not fancy."

I roll my eyes. "Gee, thanks. I have the _perfect _outfit in mind," I smirk.

"Yo, knock it off, you. Just… wear clothes, I don't know. I'm a hairstylist, not a fashion designer," he grins. "Okay?"

Still smiling, I nod then stand up so I can touch him better and place a hand on his forearm.

"Okay. Can't wait."

* * *

**You guys got two chapters today to make up for Monday. I got so caught up in reading fic that I forgot I had one of my own to write! :D **

**See you guys on Friday.**


	7. Chapter 7

**07.**

Jasper arrives on time, and he looks… good. He looks good for wearing almost the same thing that I am, only the sweater part of my outfit is replaced with a dark brown leather jacket. Then I get to his face and notice right away that his hair is slicked back out of his eyes with the ends curling upwards, and that, for some reason, makes me smile.

"Hey," I greet him as I step over to the coat closet for my jacket.

"Hey," he greets back, grin in place. "You ready?"

"Yup. Let's go."

* * *

Jasper parks his car about a block away from our destination, which I found out to be the Tacoma Comedy Club, so we'll have to walk a little bit. I don't mind, though. It probably wasn't his intent, but this part of the date has turned out to be quite romantic, especially when we walk toward the club, close but not quite touching, and our hands keep bumping into each other with every other step. To put us both out of our misery, I reach over and grab his the second it bumps mine and link our fingers together.

I smile at him. "Much better."

He gives my hand a quick squeeze and we keep walking, not missing a step.

* * *

The atmosphere is electric. The comics have the entire place laughing, and I've never had so much fun on a date before. There is a guy on stage now, telling racial jokes without stepping over lines, though he walks pretty damned close to them on more than one occasion.

But it's comedy. I like it when comedians aren't afraid to tell a joke just because someone, or some people, will get all butt-hurt over it. If a joke bombs, then it bombs, but at least it was tried.

Jasper and I are sitting at a small table a few away from the center of the room, and though he's enjoying himself just as much as I am, I think he's getting more enjoyment in watching me laugh my ass off, especially considering I keep touching him when I find a joke particularly funny.

Or I suppose it wouldn't exactly be enjoyment, per se, but more… well. Sometimes, when I catch him watching me, he's got this tender expression on his face, and my heart beats double-time in my chest, but I smile back and I know he sees the same expression on my face as his own, and it's there that I know there's something building between us, something real, something true.

I squeeze his hand over the table, our fingers linked every now and again (sweaty palms are a thing, you know), and we just enjoy this moment we seem to be having.

And then, I guess the comic up on stage must see us, because we become one of his jokes, and though our cheeks are a little flushed in embarrassment, we laugh just as hard, if not harder, than the rest of the audience.

* * *

**A week and a day late, but it's here. I had to figure out where I wanted their date to take place.**

**See you... _hopefully _on Monday. ;)**


	8. Chapter 8

**To that one "guest" reviewer who said my story sucks: don't be a lemon. :)**

* * *

**08.**

The comedy show lets out at close to midnight. It's times like this when I'm grateful to be taking online courses, otherwise I'd be a walking zombie in the morning, and nobody wants that. If I don't get my eight hours of sleep, I'm not the nicest person on Earth, let's just say.

So, when Jasper leads me out of the club by my hand, then asks me if I want to hang out more, as much as I want to say that I can, I can't.

Grimacing, I tell him the truth.

"I wish I could, but I need to get home, get some rest, and then buckle down on my homework. I have a paper due next week." I may have pouted. Just a tiny bit.

He takes it in good stride, though. He's understanding, which, why wouldn't he be? I momentarily forgot that he's in school, too.

"It's fine, Edward. School's a pretty big priority for the both of us. This just gives me another reason to take you on a second date," Jasper says to me, a playful smirk on his face.

I raise my eyebrows. "The only reason?" I ask, nudging his shoulder with mine as we continue walking down the street. This feels good, kind of bantering. If this goes any further, I can already tell there will be a lot of laughter between us, and if I can be honest for a quick second: I can't wait.

"Well, not the only reason." He's trying to play coy, but it's not working. I just stare at him, fighting a smile, but failing. Jasper laughs, shaking his head. "There really isn't a reason. Just know that there will be a second date. As soon as our schedules allow." He vows.

"At least, we still have the phone," I say in answer to that.

We keep laughing and smiling the closer we get to his car, and then sober up pretty quickly because the date is almost over. I'm trying not to let it bother me too much, because he just said that there will be a second date - and possibly a third, fourth, and just… a lot more to come - but this is the first time since high school, really, that I've cared about anyone and anything besides my job and my schoolwork. It's kind of sad, now that I think about it.

"Hey," Jasper calls out, shaking my hand and, by extension, my whole arm, trying to get me out of my own head. When it works, he continues, "This won't be the last time we see each other, you know."

I'm already shaking my head to dispel the depressing thoughts my mind took me, and also to tell him that that's not what I was worried about. "It's not that, honest. I was just thinking that this is the most fun I've had in a really long time." I start to say something else, but then what I just said registers with me and I laugh. "That sounded all kinds of cliche just now, but it's the truth. If nothing else, this night has helped me to remember that there is a world outside of the one I built around myself. You know?"

He nods. "I get it. I was the same way in high school."

We finally make it to the car and separate to walk around to our respective sides.

Before we get in, Jasper has one more thing to ask me:

"Do you work tomorrow?"

I nod, and when I see him start to frown, I jump back in with, "But not until the afternoon. Around three thirty-ish."

"You want to do breakfast…" he checks his watch, surprised eyes snapping back to mine. "Later this morning, I guess?"

I check my own watch to see that it's definitely past midnight now, which officially makes it tomorrow morning. _Time really does fly when you're having fun._

Looking back at Jasper, I hesitate in answering. "I'd like to…" I start, then just decide to go with it. "It'll probably have to be a late breakfast. Maybe brunch?"

"Sounds good. I'll call or text you to see if you're even awake."

After one date, and he already seems to know me better than I know myself.

* * *

When we get back to my apartment, we stand idle outside my door. I'm fumbling with my keys, acting like the quintessential _girl _on her first date with a boy she has a crush on and she's waiting for him to make that first move to kiss her, and Jasper… he seems to just be standing there, watching me fumble around with my keys, trying to fit the correct one in the lock, though by now, he's probably aware that I've been purposely sticking the wrong key in the door because I'm stalling. A quick flick of my eyes up to look at him tells me that he knows what I'm doing, and he finds it amusing.

Huffing at myself for being so suddenly shy, I mutter a quiet, "Fuck it," and snap my head up just in time for Jasper to plant one on my lips. His kiss took me by so much surprise, that I'm frozen in a wide-eye stare for a few seconds before I snap out of it and kiss him back.

When we pull away, we're both smiling, and I tell him that I was just about to initiate that, but he beat me to it. He responds by telling me that I can initiate the next one.

Now that the pretenses are gone, I put the real key in the lock and turn. We wish each other a good night before I shut the door completely.

* * *

**Hi! I almost forgot to post this. It's still Monday in my neck of the woods, but only for another 30 minutes, or so.**

**Anyway, there will _definitely _be a chapter on Wednesday; it's already written. So, I'll see you guys then. :)  
**


	9. Chapter 9

**09.**

After plugging my phone into its charger and setting it on the dresser so that I'm not tempted to look at it while I try to sleep, I groggily undress myself and have just enough energy to put on a pair of pajama pants before landing face-down on my bed. The second I do, my phone rings and I groan, because I don't know if it's Jasper being cute or Bella being nosy and I really don't want to get up to find out. Already I can feel my eyelids drooping, thinking to myself that I'll just let the call go to voice mail, but then it rings again, and I know.

I make as much unpleasant noise as I can as I get up from my bed and walk back to my phone, answering it in a way that tells her that I do not appreciate being kept awake because she wants to hear about my date.

Before I can greet her properly after groaning and grunting, pretending that this is against my will, she's already talking to me through her laughter.

"Sorry, sorry. I know how you are about your sleep," she says, trying to placate me. Then she continues, "Just tell me what you guys did and then I'll let you get your beauty sleep," she snorts.

I roll my eyes but tell her, anyway.

"He took me to the comedy club downtown, where we got to be one of the comedians' jokes because we had a 'moment' and it was just too good to pass up," I'm laughing as I think about it again. I don't even remember the joke, but it doesn't matter. "We would have continued the date, but I had to end it because it was already late and I have to dedicate some time to my homework tomorrow. I've been slacking." I tell her. I know it's not what she wants to hear, though, so I finish it with, "Anyway, we kissed, said goodnight, and plan on breakfast-maybe-brunch in the morning, if I can get to sleep now."

I'm teasing her, she knows it. She laughs and apologizes again about keeping me up.

"No worries. I know how nosy you are about everybody's business that's not your own," I chortle.

"Hey!" she feigns indignant, but she's always been a shit actress, so she starts laughing again. "Yeah, I am, huh? I don't know how you put up with me, honestly. Pretty sure I annoy all of my other friends…" she muses.

"That's easy. I put up with you because you're my best friend; you're my platonic soul mate. My spirit animal."

"Yeah, that is true."

"Also, I know how to counteract your crazy, so. You know." I finish, laughing when she tries to be indignant again.

We don't stay on the phone for much longer, and once we hang up and I place my phone back down on the dresser, I land face-down on my bed again, and lazily get myself underneath the covers without trying to move so much.

My eyes close, and before long, eight hours pass by while I'm dead to the world.


	10. Chapter 10

**Title change: This story is now called 'Double Wood' because this story isn't what I intended it to be, but instead of taking it down and rewriting it so it fits, I'm just gonna roll with it. BTW, 'double wood' is a bowling term. It's what you call two pins in which one is directly behind the other (i.e. the 2-8, 3-9, 1-5).**

**It's also a double entendre.**

* * *

**10.**

Walking into the coffee shop at close to noon later that day, I spot Jasper sitting at one of the few tables by the window with his laptop in front of him, most likely doing his own homework. He looks up and we briefly make eye contact and smile at each other before I continue to the counter to order my drink, and then sit down with him while I wait.

"Hey," I lean over and peck his lips.

"Hey," he replies, shutting his computer and putting it back into his bag before giving me his full attention. "How are you?" he smiles.

Folding my arms on the table, I drop my head with a groan. Jasper's hand starts rubbing my back comfortingly and now I'm trying to keep that groan from turning into a moan because his touch feels good, and this is _with_ clothes on. I can't even imagine what it'd feel like when the touching is bare skin to bare skin.

"Tired?" he chuckles.

"Mmph." I respond.

"I'll take that as a yes, then. Late night?"

Rolling my head so that my left cheek rests on my arms, I'm able to answer him more clearly. "Bella called just as I was about go to bed because she apparently couldn't wait to get all the details of our date," I tell him, rolling my eyes for emphasis. "Anyway, how's your day been?"

Jasper smirks, and it makes him look just a little mischievous. When he answers my question, I know why and I'm rolling my eyes extra hard at the cheesiness.

"Better, now that _you're _here," and he adds some eyelash fluttering to boot.

Jasper and I spend the rest of the morning sitting in the coffee shop, enjoying each others' company, getting to know one another even more than we have. We make plans for our second date night, this time at my apartment where I will attempt to cook for him. I'm not bad in the kitchen, exactly, but when you're the only one you have to feed, it's easier to just live off of sandwiches, either cold or hot, and cereal, because you're always too lazy to make an effort. If I bribe Bella with date details, I can probably get her to help me; though, she's no better than I am, she still knows how to throw things together and make it taste delicious. She got that from Renee, her mother. The dishes are hit-or-miss, but there are more tallies in the former than the latter.

In between conversation, Jasper takes out his laptop to get some more work done, and when he does that, that's when I mess around with my phone, getting Bella to "volunteer" her cooking services, and then we chat back and forth about whatever. She tells me that she'll be stopping by the bowling alley again to "visit", but we both know that she wants gossip, and she asks if Jasper will be there, too. Regrettably, I tell her that he can't today because he has work, too, but I promise her that we'll all get together for a more formal introduction soon.

It's a little terrifying how involved we're fast becoming into the other person's life…

Terrifying, but exhilarating at the same time.

* * *

**Sorry for the looooong wait. Also, screw update schedules, even though I could probably benefit from the time management practice. :P  
**

**So, I've been thinking that this particular story isn't going to be too long. This is just becoming a fluff piece, full of romance, no drama, so there's really no need to drag it out into forever, you know? After next chapter, there will be a bit of a time jump, but not too big. I don't think. It won't be years into the future, that much I can tell you all.**

**See y'all soon, if you're still with me. If not, that's okay, too. :)**


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